---
title: "Psych News Alert: Contingency Management App Improved OUD Treatment Outcomes"
description: Augmenting medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) with smartphone app–based contingency management resulted in improved treatment outco...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AVvXsEjBytv5pWW6K2lsgEh5fj4wLhf9tKj8eq7PuhGwjv83madxJqNIQ9dopguACU3qAMr4gHH4zM05G4MLZz1BGNxC50txWX2yhCfwVAnsBG1M13ZPGFaWMh2v6ykvcpYf-hwxO1bRx5mvLekn0-Jun-24-2025-06-18-20-6978-PM.jpg
---

 12/3/24 12:00 AM

# Contingency Management App Improved OUD Treatment Outcomes

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html)

![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AVvXsEjBytv5pWW6K2lsgEh5fj4wLhf9tKj8eq7PuhGwjv83madxJqNIQ9dopguACU3qAMr4gHH4zM05G4MLZz1BGNxC50txWX2yhCfwVAnsBG1M13ZPGFaWMh2v6ykvcpYf-hwxO1bRx5mvLekn0-Jun-24-2025-06-18-19-6484-PM.jpg?width=200&height=127&name=AVvXsEjBytv5pWW6K2lsgEh5fj4wLhf9tKj8eq7PuhGwjv83madxJqNIQ9dopguACU3qAMr4gHH4zM05G4MLZz1BGNxC50txWX2yhCfwVAnsBG1M13ZPGFaWMh2v6ykvcpYf-hwxO1bRx5mvLekn0-Jun-24-2025-06-18-19-6484-PM.jpg)

Augmenting medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) with smartphone app–based contingency management resulted in improved treatment outcomes in a group of underinsured patients, according to a [study](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2827185) issued yesterday in *JAMA Network Open*.

Traditionally delivered in clinics, contingency management (CM) provides financial incentives for accomplishing treatment goals, typically an opioid-negative finding on urine drug screens, wrote Elise N. Marino, Ph.D., from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and colleagues. “Although many individuals benefit from adding CM to MOUD, a long-standing limitation of this treatment is the requirement to attend multiple in-person appointments per week.”

The researchers used data from 3,759 uninsured or underinsured adults with opioid use disorder who were receiving publicly funded opioid treatment—including MOUD—from physicians’ offices or specialized clinics in Texas from November 2020 through November 2023. Participants were also given the option to receive a smartphone app–delivered CM program for one year. The app provided online individual and group support facilitated by peers; daily goal setting related to both substance use and recovery/self-care; encouragement; progress-tracking; and the ability to earn up to $800 in retail gift cards as an incentive.

In all, 622 participants (16.5%) opted to take part in the app-based CM. The researchers compared treatment outcomes of 300 participants who used the CM app with 300 participants who were similar in terms of age, sex, race, and ethnicity and chose to receive only MOUD.

Participants who chose the CM app reported significantly fewer days of opioid use at the end of treatment (8 days) compared with those who chose to receive MOUD only (12 days). Overall, 62% of the CM app group remained in treatment for the full year, compared with just 39% of the MOUD-only group. App participants were also significantly more likely to stay in treatment longer (290 days), compared with 236 days among MOUD-only participants.

“As a virtual treatment, app-based CM has fewer infrastructure barriers to implementation and should provide opportunities for rapid dissemination to patients,” Marino and colleagues wrote. “[H]owever, less than one-fifth of our entire sample chose to use it. Obtaining, owning, and navigating app-enabled devices may be barriers for some patients, and these apps require consistent use, which may become burdensome or unappealing over time, leading to low use. It is also possible that clinicians themselves may benefit from additional education and training to support adoption.”

For related information, see the *Psychiatric News* article “[Experts Discuss Options for Treating Stimulant Use Disorder](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2024.12.12.12).”

(Image: Getty Images/iStock/PeopleImages)

---

**Don't miss out!** To learn about newly posted articles in *Psychiatric News,* please sign up [here](https://appi.org/pnpubalert).

**[Follow *Psychiatric News* on X!](https://twitter.com/PsychiatricNews)**

**[Follow *Psychiatric News* on LinkedIn!](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/psychiatric-news)**

[MOUD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/moud), [OUD](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/oud), [methadone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/methadone), [opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-use-disorder), [naltrexone](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/naltrexone), [buprenorphine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/buprenorphine), [contingency management](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/contingency-management), [medications for opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/medications-for-opioid-use-disorder)

## Related posts

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/patient_therapist_iStock-1470735614-Jun-24-2025-05-15-06-0942-PM.jpg?height=200&name=patient_therapist_iStock-1470735614-Jun-24-2025-05-15-06-0942-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/11/low-resource-patients-with-oud-engaged.html)

[opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-use-disorder), [heroin](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/heroin), [substance use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/substance-use-disorder), [fentanyl](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/fentanyl), [collaborative care model](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/collaborative-care-model), [medications for opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/medications-for-opioid-use-disorder), [CoCM](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cocm), [prescription painkillers](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/prescription-painkillers)

## [Low-Resource Patients With OUD Engaged With Collaborative Care Intervention](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/11/low-resource-patients-with-oud-engaged.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 11/26/24 12:00 AM

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/11/low-resource-patients-with-oud-engaged.html)

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/doctor%20with%20female%20patient-Jun-24-2025-03-42-03-6433-PM.jpg?height=200&name=doctor%20with%20female%20patient-Jun-24-2025-03-42-03-6433-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/02/medication-treatment-for-oud-linked.html)

[opioid](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid), [overdose](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/overdose), [opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-use-disorder), [Fatal overdose](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/fatal-overdose), [Buprenorphine Methadone Substance use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/buprenorphine-methadone-substance-use-disorder), [Medication treatment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/medication-treatment)

## [Medication Treatment for OUD Linked With 80% Lower Risk of Fatal Overdose](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/02/medication-treatment-for-oud-linked.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 2/27/20 12:00 AM

Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who receive treatment with methadone or buprenorphine have...

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2020/02/medication-treatment-for-oud-linked.html)

[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/buprenorphine_oud_iStock-955608454-Jun-24-2025-09-40-34-8315-PM.jpg?height=200&name=buprenorphine_oud_iStock-955608454-Jun-24-2025-09-40-34-8315-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/07/many-people-still-unaware-that-primary.html)

[JAMA](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/jama), [opioid use disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-use-disorder), [survey](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/survey), [health disparities](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/health-disparities), [buprenorphine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/buprenorphine), [opioid misuse](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/opioid-misuse), [primary care physician](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/primary-care-physician), [proactive screening](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/proactive-screening)

## [Many People Still Unaware That Primary Care Physicians Can Prescribe OUD Medications](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/07/many-people-still-unaware-that-primary.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 7/1/24 12:00 AM

[ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/07/many-people-still-unaware-that-primary.html)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert",
    "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T18:19:49.468Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-12-03T05:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Contingency Management App Improved OUD Treatment Outcomes",
  "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/AVvXsEjBytv5pWW6K2lsgEh5fj4wLhf9tKj8eq7PuhGwjv83madxJqNIQ9dopguACU3qAMr4gHH4zM05G4MLZz1BGNxC50txWX2yhCfwVAnsBG1M13ZPGFaWMh2v6ykvcpYf-hwxO1bRx5mvLekn0-Jun-24-2025-06-18-20-6978-PM.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/contingency-management-app-improved-oud.html",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg"
    }
  }
}
```